To CRM or Not To CRM?

To CRM or Not To CRM?

 Author:  Alisa Walser

Is your business like most businesses struggling with making the decision to invest in a Customer Relationship Management System?  In difficult times, making the decision to invest in a CRM typically gets put on hold until the decision reaches a business critical situation.  Companies tend to endorse the “go with the flow” and “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mentality.  They feel that the pain of implementing a CRM is by far above something they can tolerate.  It doesn’t have to be.

The following questions may help you identify the reasons and justify the need for a CRM.  If you don’t have the answers, ask your executive staff to weigh in on the following questions:

• Are you investing in Trade Shows and leaving viable leads in a shoebox?
• Are you investing in lead generation but not contacting the responders?
• Do you invest in training your sales and customer service reps?
• Do you currently communicate frequently to your customers/clients?
• Do you currently communicate regularly to your vendors/suppliers?
• Do you have a way to capture all your current client information?
• Do you have all the client information available to up-sell or cross-sell for products that are currently in your pipeline?
• Is your organization prone to sales personnel turnover?

If any of the answers to these questions are yes, you have the basis for taking the step toward identifying and implementing a CRM.

Once you have identified that obtaining a CRM would be an option for you, make sure you ask for participation from all functional areas of your organization.  Many hands make light work and help to create a strong blueprint and foundation upon which to build your CRM. 

The foundation or blueprint is just like a house foundation, it is the most important part to critique when you are looking at the options to choose from for your CRM.  Make sure you consider a CRM provider that has the ability to easily expand your foundation.  The foundation should be able to be altered to fit your ever-changing business requirements, without loosing or jeopardizing information that you currently store.

Understand that support is a very important factor in the success of your CRM implementation.  Support from your IT/IS team is paramount to the success of the project.  In addition to the technical support, your organization should understand the merits of a good training program that includes a follow-up program a few months after implementation. 

For further information on the selection and implementation of a CRM, please continue to follow PeakVizn for future postings!

Inspire your Customers

Author: Tatiana Calley

We live and work in an ever increasing competitive environment. Chances are, your competitors offer products or services that are similar to yours. In my view, competition is fantastic. It means that there is business to attain and all you have to do is to inspire your customers to buy from you. All things being equal, the one thing that will constantly set you apart from your competitors is the quality of your customer relationships. Your customers want to be inspired by you and your company. Isn’t it really about what your product or service can do, that will take their business to the peak of success?

I truly believe amazing things can happen when we stop pressing for the order and start nurturing the relationship. Be thoughtful, attentive and creative about the quality and frequency of your connections. Do you regularly send out information or updates to your clients and prospects (remember to always plant the seed for future growth)? Have you ever celebrated the anniversary of your first project together? I can tell you that most of your competitors have not, be bold, and be different.

In a previous position I did strategic sales reviews with my accounts, I met with the principal contact on a quarterly basis to discuss their business and to brainstorm ideas for future growth. Are you having these valuable conversations with your customers? Right now is the perfect time to call and inspire them about the commitment you have to their business.

Leverage these “touch points” with your important customers, prospects, and partners, deepening your relationship through memorable meetings and media will create a deeper personal connection. Work inspired and be the one-of-a kind solution to help grow your relationship and your business.

Today is your day. Now is your time. Take action. Go and Inspire!